Ballpoint love

After getting back into fountain pens after a long dry spell ( no pun intended) caused mainly by military service starting in the late 60's where ballpoints were needed for multiple carbon copies, ect, I find myself using a 25 year old Parker Sonnet. I do have a matching fountain pen for it and use it when I do not need something quick. Most of my fountain pens are sets, usually the matching pencil and often a ballpoint.

I had a nice Cross set, ballpoint and pencil in the early 70's and the ballpoint was stolen by movers when we were packing to go overseas. I did replace it but finally settled in on the Parker jotter sets , liking the longevity of the Parker refills.

For Ballpoints I really like Caran D'Ache 849. I also have a couple Retro 51's.

Have been using a standard clickie for work lately, tossed the cheap refill out and replaced with a Parker Quink one.



Is actually pretty nice, purchased another 6 for later on.

Hey I'm all for the ballpoint pens. I've only recently started getting into fountain pens as a result of finding a Pilot Varsity in the driveway of an abandoned house.

I personally use a Parker Jotter as my regular use pen. So those with a fine refill are a good choice, however I wouldn't consider them disposable at all.

On the disposable side my favorite would have to be the black Skilcraft US Government retractable ballpoints in fine. They are cheap, look classy, and write really nice and in almost any conditions. I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned them yet.

I am not a ballpoint fan at all, and I have mostly used fountain pens since university (I used rollerballs for a while in secondary school).
But the various Lamy ballpoint pens are acceptable to me. I have a Studio and a Logo.

I carry either a Fisher AG-7 or Fisher bullet as my daily pen.

nemo said:

I'll admit to having a secret mini-collection of floaty pens.




For disposable and cheap, nothing beats the BIC Cristal in my opinion. The clip can be easily used to clean under the fingernails.

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Totally agree. The Bic is probably the greatest ball point of all time. Writes great.